Desperation
by Firefly01
Summary: Pregnant Lana is kidnapped by Dr. Helen Bryce. Rated R for language and graphic violence.
1. Chapter 1

TITLE: Desperation  
RATING: Strong R for Violence and Language  
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing (dammit)  
SUMMARY: Pregnant Lana is kidnapped by Helen.  
PAIRINGS: Lex and Lana/ Helen and Lex

It felt like a white hot iron had been placed in the small of her back, and the pain wrapped its nasty fingers around her middle and settled at her groin. She screamed and then gritted her teeth and growled. Like a woman knows, Lana knew that the baby would be born soon. Very soon. She looked around the plain white room, and wondered where the bitch was. She hated her, but at the same time was deathly afraid of giving birth on her own. And Helen was a doctor after all.

Another sharp pain, and Lana felt herself split in two. A rush of fluid, like a garden hose had just been turned on, flowed from her body, and Lana began to cry. Hoarse, thick sobs- very unbecoming of a lady, but Lana didn't care. She felt manic almost, posessed by the devil himself maybe and she JUST WANTED IT OUT!

"How are we feeling?" Helen asked sweetly as she swept into the room. "How the fuck do you think I'm feeling!" Lana screamed back at her. During the contractions, Lana had gone from lying on her back, to crouching on all fours, to back again, and just lately she very much resembled a crab. She braced herself up on her arms, and while her butt was resting on the bed, her knees were bent and open.

Yes, soon.

There was no way of knowing how long she had been locked in this room. The last real time that she could recall was 7:30am. She'd gotten up, showered, and had decided to go to the retirement center in town at the last minute because she'd been filled with a sudden burst of energy- a giant change from the past few weeks. She couldn't drive of course, and so she had a driver take her there. She'd been so preoccupied with her thoughts and to-do lists that it was a full 25 minutes before she realized that the driver had gone the wrong way. It took another 5 for Lana to realize that her driver was completely ignoring her questioning, and she felt the first cold stab of fear. She'd hugged her belly, as if trying to protect the baby inside, and sat in silence until the car finally stopped at some run down looking warehouse.

Men with guns had taken Lana by the arms and thrust her into this room, and there sat Helen. The shock of seeing her had stunned Lana so badly that she barely even tried to get away (as if she could have) when Helen pounced on her and injected a syringe full of a clear liquid into her upper arm. The world became fuzzy.


	2. Chapter 2

When she came to, she was wearing an itchy, white hospital gown, and was strapped down flat on her back in a small bed. Helen sat nearby, and seeing that Lana was now awake, she smiled and moved closer so that Lana could see her. "What? Wha.." Lana could barely form whole thoughts let alone get them out properly. She shook her head, and tried to begin again. "What?" Helen chuckled. "I doubt you'll really be able to speak for another half hour or so. The drugs I gave you are quite powerful."

_What drugs? _

As if hearing her, Helen answered, "A sedative and a good dose of Oxytocin." She smiled sympatheticly at Lana's ignorance of drugs and explained, "It will bring on labor." She stood, and examined Lana's very large stomach which made Lana want to kick her in the face.

_Get away from my baby!_

"You're very far along already, so this is really just a helping hand. Shouldn't be long." She smiled again, and then disappeared from Lana's line of sight. She heard a door latch, followed by the click of a lock sliding into place, and knew that Helen had left. From her vantage point, Lana could only see the wall closest to her, which was plain white with no adornement. From what she could remember of the room, it was small, square-ish, lit by a single naked bulb and windowless. Her feet were cold, and it was then that Lana realized that her legs were strapped down as well. She tried not to panic, and did her very best not to think of coffins, tunnels, basements or any other small confined places.

Yeah. Didn't work.

"Help!" she screamed finally, though to her ears it sounded like mush, and even though she understood that nobody in this place probably gave a shit, she screamed again anyway and did so for several minutes. When the echoes died away, the crying started. She was too drugged to think properly, and only had the vaguest idea of what was happening to her. Kidnapped. By Helen. That's bad.

The baby inside of her was very still, asleep maybe, lulled into peaceful unconscious by the drugs they had been given. She wished he weren't. More than anything right now she wanted to know that he was okay, and even a kick to the bladder would be positive. Lana had no concept of the time, but no doubt Lex already knew about her disappearence. She tried to send him some kind of subliminal message, but she was pretty sure that only worked in the movies. Still, Lana centered her thoughts on Lex. Maybe he would get them after all. In just a few minutes, the door would break down, and there he'd be, ready to take her back home.

Any minute now.

The room was eerily quiet, and since it didn't appear that the cavalry were about to bust in (yet), Lana tried to focus on the problem. What did Helen want? Must be money, Lana's drug induced brain reasoned, because it certainly wouldn't allow her to think of _that._ There's no way that Helen would want _that._ No, it must be money, and really, this was a great way to get it. Kidnap a man's pregnant wife, and he'll hand over his mother. Helen did want money before- she'd tried to kill Lex to get it.

She was a reasonable person, had even almost been Lana's friend. Surely they could talk this through and come to an understanding. X amount of money to be transferred to someplace Swiss. Gotcha.

Lana squirmed under her straps. The weight of the baby was heavy on her kidneys, and it wouldn't be long before the little ache she was feeling turned into a problem. Maybe it wasn't a bad thing after all that Alexander was being so still. If he managed to wake before Lex rescued her- well better to not think of that. Everything will be fine in just a few more minutes.


	3. Chapter 3

Bastard. Jackass. Black coat wearing asshole. How hard is it to rescue someone? I mean really, as many times as Lana had been rescued in the past, it seemed beyond strange, annoying and downright rude that her husband couldn't seem to get on the ball. Didn't their cars have lojack? Shouldn't the National Guard have been called out by now? Lana sure as heck didn't hear any helicopters buzzing overhead.

Hours must have passed, as evidenced by the fierce growling in Lana's stomach. Not that it was an unusual condition for her to have, considering her late pregnancy, but the simple knowledge that a pack of sugar free gum was safely tucked away in her purse "somewhere" and that she was willing to go Schwarzenegger to get it, told her that her state of hungriness was a wee bit advanced.

Since waking so long ago in a daze, Lana had not seen Helen at all. No explanations, no Doctor Evil's "_million dollars."_ Nothing. She'd run through dozens of scenarios in her head, and wasn't convinced at all that she was even one step closer to understanding this whole thing. Helen had been a doctor at Smallville General when she met Lex. They dated for a while (ick) and then decided to get married. Everything seemed fine on the outside until the plane that was taking them to their honemoon destination suddenly crashed. Helen came back telling hero stories about Lex that would make anyone proud of the man, but those stories turned out to be false. As it turns out, Helen had drugged Lex and left him on the plane to die. He didn't die (of course), and came back ready for vengeance. After confronting Helen with the truth, and another near death fight, she disappeared only to reappear now packing prescription heat.

Crazy bitch.

The door clicked, and footsteps walked in her direction. "It's about time!" Lana shouted to whoever it was. "You can't keep me in here like this. What the hell do you want?" Helen finally came into view, and stared down at Lana. "You think you're so special," she said in a low and even voice. "I was special once, or at least I thought I was, because that's what he told me." She paused, and moved closer to Lana, who began to feel very vulnerable because there was no way for her to defend herself or her baby. Best to keep quiet and let the bitch talk.

"But that all ended," Helen continued. "Now I have nothing. I was a doctor. I could have done research at Johns Hopkins! I became Mrs. Luthor instead, and now I have nothing!" Her eyes were bright and her face impassioned, but something was off. Feeling cautious, Lana ventured, "Well you probably shouldn't have tried to kill him."

Helen softened a fraction, and gave a small smile. "Kill or be killed right? Had I stayed, I would have died a slow death. I would have tried to be happy at first, but his life would have been a weight on my shoulders that I could never shrug off. I don't know what I was thinking. I wasn't cut out to be a trophy wife." She smirked and said pointedly, "though I suppose that can make some people happy." Lana glared at Helen. "So you tried to kill him? Why not just walk away? You still could have gone to John Hopkins. If you hadn't been so greedy, you could have still been living a normal life." Helen laughed. "Be normal?" she asked. "Be normal after the life I had been living? Not possible."

The slight sadness that had crept into Helen's eyes vanished, and a coldness descended, a chill that Lana felt in her own body. "What do you want?" Lana asked her, trying to hide the fear in her voice.

"He stole something from me, and so now I am going to steal something from him," Helen answered without emotion.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to take your baby Lana." Lana's eyes went wide, and her breath caught in her throat. "I won't let you," she said weakly. Helen gave a tight lipped smile and leaned in closer. "There's nothing that you can do to stop me."


	4. Chapter 4

Lana sighed in relief as the last strap was removed. Sitting up, she rubbed her back which had been steadily aching for the past hour or two. She wiggled her arms and legs to get the circulation running again, and hoped that she wouldn't have to beg to be taken to a toilet. Helen stood nearby, watching with mild interest. "The door will be locked at all times, and armed guards are posted outside."

"Lovely," Lana muttered. Bathroom please!

"If you attempt to escape, they will simply shoot you, and then I'll have to cut the baby out. Do you understand? I am taking your baby regardless." Lana nodded and glanced around the room. It was the first time since she'd arrived that she could really see where she was, and actually there wasn't much to look at. A door that she hadn't noticed before was at the far end, and one chair stood next to the bed beside a small table.

_I wonder if I can take this bitch out with the chair?_

"Neither are actually sturdy enough to be used as a weapon," Helen said then as she followed Lana's gaze. Lana snapped back to attention. "I need a bathroom." Helen nodded. "Yes, that would be helpful." She pulled out a set of keys from her pocket, and unlocked the mystery door, revealing a tiny unlit bathroom. Lana entered, and turned to see Helen standing in the doorway. "What? You want to make sure that I don't use the toilet as an escape hatch?" Helen gave that sickly sweet smile that Lana was beginning to hate. "Just want to be sure you're safe."

Alone in her room again, Lana walked around in circles, feeling a bit like a hamster taking a turn on its exercise wheel. _She wants to take our baby._ The wheel goes up. _But why? What does she want with him?_ The wheel goes down. She'd felt panic when Helen first told her that she would take her baby, and now she felt anger. Angry at Helen for threatening her baby, angry at herself for feeling so helpless and angry at Lex for not rescuing her and for meeting the bitch in the first place. She sighed and sat down in the flimsy chair carefully. It wobbled a bit, letting Lana know that Helen had not lied about its sturdiness. An image flashed in her mind of the chair breaking, and her falling flat on her fanny and having to call Helen for help. She got back up with difficulty and continued circling the room. The small of her back was aching fiercely, and a sharp pain had begun in her side.

After a few laps, Lana pressed her ear to the door and listened. There were at least two far away voices, one of which must have been Helen, and the other was possibly a man.

"...waiting for you there," the man's voice said. "There shouldn't be any other problems once we cross the border."

"Thank you," said Helen. "It shouldn't be much longer- by morning for sure, and then we can leave." Her clicking heels approached the door, and Lana backed away as it opened. "Cross the border? Where are you going?" She placed a protective hand over her belly and glared. "That shouldn't concern you," answered Helen. She began feeling for Lana's pulse, and placed a hand on Lana's stomach, which she slapped away. "And why wouldn't it concern me?" Helen's black eyes bore into Lana's. "Because you'll be dead," she shrugged.

Lana's jaw fell open a bit, and she clamped it shut. She'd had just about enough of this. "And you think you can just do that? Lex is looking for me you stupid bitch! You think he really won't find me?" Helen just laughed, and placed a hand on her hip. "Well, he didn't find me did he? They can look for you all they want, but they're never going to find you. They don't even have the first clue where to look." Lana placed a hand at the small of her back, and tried to think. Certainly Helen would lie to her to make her think that everything was hopeless, but it felt true. How would Lex know how to find her? He didn't even know Helen was alive. How could he possibly track her? A sudden wave of nausea passed over her, and she placed a hand out to the wall to steady herself.

Alone. She was alone and having a baby, and she didn't know whether or not she would make it through this. Tears welled and fell, and so did Lana, down to her knees as the pain from her back whipped around to her front and stole her breath away. "Ahh," said Helen. "Right on time."


	5. Chapter 5

She screamed again, and resisted the urge to kick Helen in the nose. The contraction was intense, and the noises coming from Lana were a combination of sobs, terrible obscenities and a hiccup/choking sound that was substituting for breathing. "Down, Lana!" Helen shouted at her. "You need to bear down harder." Lana sucked in a big breath and pushed. She'd been given no drugs to ease the pain, despite her tearful pleas, and even though she knew it wasn't true, at this moment she was convinced that Alexander was the biggest baby ever. Helen groaned in frustration. "You're not doing it right!" she shouted at her, and Lana did kick her that time.

_Take that Hellbeast!_

A maniacal laugh escaped from Lana then, high pitched and crazy, and as the pain finally subsided, the laughing turned to sobbing. "I can't do this anymore," Lana moaned as she rested her head against her pillow. Helen glared at her for a second, rubbing her shoulder, and then finding her composure, said, "You've only been in delivery for an hour Lana, and the whole labor process has only taken 6. That's actually really fast for a first time mother." Lana opened her eyes to look at Helen, who softened briefly to add, "You're doing fine."

Strangely, she took comfort in that, and concentrated on her breathing. 6 hours? It was nice to put a number to the time that had passed in this room. The next contraction would begin any second now, and Lana relished in this quick respite. It seemed as though she and Helen were at battle together, and even though she hated her passionately, for right now, she and her baby both needed her. Her breathing hitched as the new contraction began to build. It rolled over her like a freight train, passing over her entire body before settling at her groin.

Lana launched herself into almost a sitting position, and gripped the sides of the bed for leverage. She inhaled one last time and pushed, her scream echoing in her ears. Her body shook violently and a great pressure descended as the baby finally breeched. "Good, good, now stop pushing!" Helen called, and Lana relaxed, feeling the baby leave her body. Her mind drifted, and she was distantly aware of her body falling back to the bed. A great fog descended, and all Lana could see was the sudden intense glare of the overhead light, its glow dazzling her. No sound. No pain. The world was a dream, and Lana had somehow awakened to a new reality. She breathed in and out, and it felt like waves flowing back and forth. She could see the ocean. It's green-blue water calling out to her, and she ran towards it like a child, splashing and laughing. Happiness, pure and undiluted. She turned to look back at the beach where her parents smiled and waved, and wished that she could stay forever.

A cry called out to her, and the mists suddenly parted. She pulled her eyes out of the lights and looked over to where her child lay, and it occurred to her suddenly that she had become something new. She was not that little girl dancing in the water anymore, and she kissed that memory and put it away. A love stronger than reason and more powerful than time flowed out of her as she looked at her baby. A great void was finally filled, and Lana's eyes drifted closed to sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Lana opened her eyes and felt a stab of panic. How long had she slept? She sat up, and winced at the pain she felt. Everything hurt, even her arms and her legs. Looking around, she realized that she was alone and tears began to fill her eyes. Helen had taken her baby just like she said she would. Lana put her head in her hands and sobbed. She'd only seen him one time, and it was so brief and she was so loopy that she couldn't even remember what he looked like.

The sound of a baby crying in another room snapped Lana to attention. They were still here!

Her thoughts immediately turned to Lex. He would never forgive her if she let something happen to their baby. She'd never forgive herself. She was a Luthor now, and sitting here waiting to be left behind was not an option. Tossing the sheet aside, she groaned at what she saw. Her gown was still hiked up around her waist, exposing her to a giant bloody mess. Despite the disgusting condition of the sheets, it did look as though Helen had at least bothered to clean her up. Ever the doctor.

Lana stepped off of the bed on very shaky legs. She seemed to have no energy in them left, but her will was iron. Forcing them to work, she took small steps over to the door and tried to open it. Locked. There had to be something that she could use to maybe pry it open. Lana turned around and looked, squealing when she saw a bloody medical tray near the bed with a flash of silver in the bottom of it. She fished out a forgotten pair of scissors and took them back to the door. It wouldn't budge and Lana felt panic rising again, but pushed it down.

She had to get out! She held the scissors tightly in her hand, and then knocked the chair over with a loud bang. "Oh help!" she cried, rolling her eyes. If this actually works, the idiots get what's coming to them. "Help me please!" Once she heard footsteps outside she sank down to the floor against the wall and closed her eyes. The door clicked open, and with her eye open a crack, she could see that it was one man investigating. He held his gun out in front of him, and approached cautiously. "Hey!" he shouted at her. Lana managed a weak moan, and the man lowered his gun a bit. "Hey!" he shouted again, and this time Lana opened her eyes and strained to see. "Help me, I can't walk," she whispered. She wondered if the labored breathing was too much. Apparently not, because the dumbass set his gun down on the bed, and reached for Lana. As he wrapped his arms around her back and under her legs, Lana plunged the scissors into his neck, and pulled them towards herself in a slicing motion. It opened up a large gash, and blood came pouring out, temporarily stunning Lana. He staggered backwards, and put his hand to his throat in a vain attempt to stop the bleeding.

As if she could look any worse, some of the man's blood spurted onto Lana's gown, and she slapped at it in a panic trying to get it off. As the man fell to the ground and stopped moving, Lana closed her eyes, and forced herself to calm down.

Breathe. Focus.

She looked down at the gun, and briefly thanked God that Lex had taught her how to shoot. He'd showed her how to load a clip, check for the safety, and chamber a bullet. Her first time at the gun range had startled her- the noise and the unexpected kick of the gun. The first shot had gone wild, but after the shock wore off, her second shot was much better. By now, Lana's aim was dead on.

She picked up the gun and looked out the door, seeing a dark hallway with one end opening up to a large warehouse, and the other a closed door. Her baby gave a sharp cry, and Lana stiffened, freezing her body and sharpening her senses. The cry came from the closed door. She walked over to it, and listened carefully, hearing only Helen soothing her baby. Her hand reached for the knob and froze when she heard more voices coming from the warehouse at the end of the hall. If she went in for her baby now, the men would come running with their guns and kill them both. Carefully, she tip-toed to where she could see them. The guards who had originally dragged Lana into her white room were being paid by a third, who thanked them for their help and sent them on their way.

She pressed herself flat against the wall, and watched as Mr. Moneybags followed them outside. A large red toolbox stood off to the side, and Lana ran over to it, pulling its drawers open to find a weapon. She couldn't use the gun and risk Helen hearing it. In the last drawer, Lana found a monkey wrench. It wasn't very large, but it was heavy and she replaced it with the gun, hoping that she had the courage to do what she needed to do. When she heard footsteps coming back, she ran over to hide behind the door and waited.

A good looking man in his 30s walked through the door whistling. Before she could feel bad about her decision, Lana stepped behind him and hit him on the back of the head as hard as she could. He was quite a bit taller than her, and her hit was awkward. Not giving him a chance to recover, Lana hit him again and watched him fall to his knees. She walked around to his front to take a look at him and felt sick with herself. His face held a stunned expression, and his mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. His eyes found hers, and he reached out to grab her leg with a growl. She kicked at him and then brought the wrench down on the top of his head.

He fell to the ground and jerked twice before going still, blood pouring from the wound. Lana pulled her eyes away from the sight and focused on her baby. She'd feel bad about this later. Right now, Alex was all the mattered.


	7. Chapter 7

Moving quickly, but quietly to the closed door, she sucked in a shaky breath, and stepped into the room determined. Helen's back was to her, and she was wrapping Alex in a little blue blanket. "Jack," she said over her shoulder. "Go ahead and bring the car around. We should go."

"Get away from my baby," Lana said to her back in an icy voice. She pointed her gun at Helen's head and almost pulled the trigger. _This is it!_ Helen turned slowly to look at Lana with wide eyes. _Kill her now!_ Her finger began to squeeze, and Helen shifted her weight slightly, enough so that Lana was able to see her baby. He was being quiet now, as if listening, and waiting to see what would happen next. _Alexander._ That was enough, and Helen, recognizing Lana's hesitation turned back around and leaned over the baby. Lana faltered a bit, knowing that she had missed an opportunity that might not come again. Helen picked little Alex up and laid him against her chest. Lana flinched, but remained calm. "There's nothing that you can do to change this Lana. You're not a killer," she said.

"Tell that to your guards," Lana replied evenly. This time Helen flinched. It was fast, and she was quick to recover, but Lana caught it. "We both know that you won't endanger your child by shooting at me," Helen said. Lana shrugged keeping her gun aimed at Helen, hating that it was pointed anywhere near Alex, and hating Helen more for making her do it. "Taking out your knee won't hurt Alex." Helen cocked an eyebrow at the use of the baby's name. "I was actually thinking of naming him Stephen, after my father."

"Why are you doing this?" Lana spat out at her. "Why do you want our baby so badly? Why don't you just go have your own?" The silence in the room became charged with emotion as Helen finally began to crack. She seemed tired all of a sudden, and the change was confusing to Lana, who had expected Helen to be a bitch to the bitter end. Her stone faced facade split open and tears welled in her eyes. "I did," Helen said quietly. "The night Lex came home from the island, we slept together, and three weeks after I left him I found out that I was pregnant." She took a shaky breath, and held Alex tighter to her chest. "You don't know how difficult it was for me to hide from him. Always moving from place to place, the stress of it was too much. . . " Her voice trailed off, and she looked down at Alex with sadness in her eyes.

Lana lowered the gun slightly, but stayed on guard. "I gave birth to a son also, and I named him William," Helen continued. "I tried to be a good mother, but it was just so hard, and I wasn't ready yet, not ready at all." A chill went up Lana's spine, and she tried to read Helen's intentions even though her eyes were still downcast. "Helen," she said, trying to get her attention. "What happened? Where is your baby?" Helen started softly rocking Alex, and he started crying, as if sensing that something was very wrong. "I tried to be a good mother, but I wasn't ready yet," she repeated, still rocking. Lana began to feel panic and she raised the gun back at Helen. "Helen!" Lana shouted over Alex's cries. Helen, as if finally hearing Lana, looked up in surprise. "I just wasn't ready yet."

"Put him down," Lana ordered. She glared at Helen with murder in her eyes and held the gun steady. "Put him down, and I'll let you leave." Helen cocked her head as if trying to understand. "You'll just let me leave?" She looked uncertain, and clutched Alex tightly. He was really howling now, and it was hard to concentrate. "Yes, I'll let you leave, just put my baby down and walk away." Helen stood in silence, and then laughed shrilly. "You'll let me leave? How kind of you! How truly perfect you really are! I always wondered if you were actually that naive." She pulled Alex so close to her body, that Alex's cries became muffled, and he struggled lightly against her. "Put my baby DOWN, Helen. Put him down, and get the hell out of our lives."

Helen's anxiousness diminished somewhat as she weighed her options. "You'll really let me leave?" Lana felt the power shift over to herself, and was glad to finally have the upper hand. "Have you ever known me to lie?" she asked her. Helen seemed to take comfort in that. "Alright," she said slowly. "Put the gun down, and I'll put the baby down." Lana lowered the gun, and looked at Helen expectantly. As if sensing that was as good as it would get, Helen carefully laid Alex down on a table. She stepped away from him carefully and moved around Lana towards the door.

Lana's eyes searched Helen's and somewhere deep inside she knew this wasn't over. Helen could go away for years and then come back at any time. They would never even see it coming.

She watched as Helen's eyes widened in realization, and then she pulled the trigger. The bullet entered Helen's upper torso, and she slumped against the wall in surprise, gasping and clutching at her chest. When Helen finally closed her eyes, an avalanche of emotions hit Lana. She tried to force them down again, but they came out anyway and she turned to vomit. Wiping her mouth, she looked up at Alex, who, since the gunshot had become very quiet. As she walked over to her baby, she felt her humanity returning bit by bit, but knew that there were some things about herself that were ruined forever.

She brushed the bad feelings aside as she inspected Alex. He seemed okay, only cautious, alert, wondering who this new person was. He looked very much like Lex, especially in his expression, but Lana could see herself there too. She swaddled him in his blanket snugly to keep him warm, and picked him up for the first time. He didn't cry, and Lana could only wonder what was going through his little mind as he stared at her so intently. She picked up Helen's cellphone from the table, and turned to leave.

"Let's go call Daddy," Lana said, smiling at her son.


	8. Chapter 8

Epilogue

Lex opened his eyes and rolled over to look for Lana. The nightmare he'd been living for the past 24 hours had finally seeped into his dreams, and for a moment he was sure she hadn't made it home. Through the dark though, he saw her, curled up on her side of the bed with an arm placed protectively near their baby who also slept. When the call had come in the morning before that Lana was gone, he'd never been so goddamn scared in his life. He had an army out looking for her, but she had disappeared without a trace and as the hours ticked by, he grew more and more desperate. It wasn't just her that he had failed to protect, it was Alexander, who knew his father's voice already. He stayed as business like as possible, screaming at servants and secret service agents for the smallest wrongs and tried his best not to think about his unborn son. Just solve the problem- no time to get emotional about it. A family trait that for once he wasn't annoyed to have inherited from his father.

They heard nothing. No ransom demand, no clues at all, just nothing. As dusk fell, Lex began to face the fact that he might actually have to go to bed not knowing where his wife and child were, if they were hurt, or even alive at all. Nothing he had ever been through in his life even compared. The pain he'd thought he felt before was almost laughable compared to the hell he was in now. He couldn't face their bedroom, and locked himself away in his study instead, where he fell on his knees and stared deeply into the fire. At that moment he truly did believe that he was damned.

And then the call came. Her voice was all he could hear, and he stayed on the line with her until she was safely back in his arms. With a pang of regret, he realized that he had missed the birth of his child, but incredible pride overshadowed that. Lana was a fighter, a survivor, fierce and undefeatable and no one would ever be able to stand on her neck in triumph. She was more fully his match than anyone else could ever be. His soul mate. His Goddess.

After stopping at the hospital to be checked out, they went home. Lana was mostly quiet, though she did answer questions put to her by the police. With enormous difficulty, Alexander was taken away by the nannies so that Lex could get Lana into the bath. She sat in silence, allowing him to wash her hair and lightly scrub her body clean. He coaxed her to eat a little and then listened in agony as she whispered her story, tears slipping down her cheeks. More than anything, he wished he'd broken Helen's neck when he had the chance. He burned the bloody gown Lana had been wearing.

Now she slept, and how he wasn't sure. Did she feel safe? Was she alright? Time would only tell.

Lex was happy that they were both home where they belonged, and for the first time in his life, he felt like things might actually be okay. Regardless of what the future has in store for them, they will meet it head on, and nothing will stop them.

Lex smiled at that thought, and leaned over to kiss his family goodnight.

THE END


End file.
